(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to automated manufacturing systems and, more particularly, to an apparatus for automatically forming a finished sleeve or pant leg for a sweat suit or the like.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
The manufacture of textile clothing articles such as sweat suits and outer garments has resisted automation. This is due largely because of the difficulty in accurately handling so called "soft" materials. For example, the fleece material commonly used in sweat suits may wrinkle, stick to one another and stretch significantly when handled.
Even where automation has begun to make in-roads, other difficulties remain. For example, sleeves and pant legs must be sewn "inside out" in order to make a garment having clean seams. This has always been a manual operation because of the dexterity required to locate the cut fabric piece, inspect it for defects and feed it into the sewing machine. Unfortunately, repetitive actions such as sewing a garment may cause health problems. However, it has been extremely difficult to design a device which can reliably locate, inspect and sew a fabric piece to form a garment piece such as a sleeve or pant leg time after time.
Thus, there remains a need for an apparatus for automatically forming a finished sleeve or pant leg for a sweat suit or the like which will operate reliably time after time while, at the same time, it can be carried out completely automatically without the need for a skilled operator.